Material securing and transporting apparatus

ABSTRACT

A MATERIAL SECURING AND TRANSPORTING APPARATUS FOR HANDLING POROUS OR NON-POROUS MATERIALS. THE DEVICE IS PROVIDED WITH A MAIN SUPPORT HAVING A PLURALITY OF MATERIAL SECURING IMPLEMENTS SLIDABLY MOUNTED THEREON FOR CONTACT WITH A WRINKLED MATERIAL. UPON IMPINGING THE MATERIAL EACH IMPLEMENT CAN BE OUTWARDLY DISPLACED FROM   AN INTERIOR PORTION OF THE SUPPORT TO EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATE UNDESIRABLE WRINKLES WITHIN THE MATERIAL.

June 25, 1974 J. a. HODSMAN 28,053

MATERIAL SECURING AND TRARSPORTING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 22.1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m INVEN'IOR.

JAMES BURR HoDs Arroem-rv June 25, 1974 J. B. HODSMAN Re. 28,053

MATERIAL SECURING AND TRARSPORTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled Jan. 22, 1971 INVENTOR. JAMES BuRR Hoosvlm ATTORNEY United StatesPatent 28,053 MATERIAL SECURING AND TRANSPORTING APPARATUS James BurrHodsman, Danville, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Canadian Johns-ManvilleCo., Ltd., Asbestos, Quebec, Canada Original No. 3,688,421, dated Sept.5, 1972, Ser. No. 108,883, Jan. 22, 1971. Application for reissue Aug.10, 1973, Ser. No. 387,415

Int. Cl. B66b 17/00; D06c 3/08 US. Cl. 38102.1 10 Claims Matter enclosedin heavy brackets II appears in the original patent but forms no part ofthis reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates theadditions made by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A material securing and transportingapparatus for handling porous or non-porous materials. The device isprovided with a main support having a plurality of material securingimplements slidably mounted thereon for contact with a wrinkledmaterial. Upon impinging the material each implement can be outwardlydisplaced from an interior portion of the support to effectivelyeliminate undesirable wrinkles within the material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the handling ofmaterial, and more particularly to a method and apparatus whereinresilient pieces of fabric are secured and transferred mechanically.While the invention has utility with many types of material, forexample, plastic or paper products, it is especially suited for use inthe opening of sacks made from jute and the like woven yarns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The achievement of a fully integratedmanufacturing system requires that every element be considered andappropriately modified to facilitate an economical, physical, flow ofproducts. Recent inclusion of in-process and industrial packaging asintegral parts of the general manufacturing system has served to focusgreater attention upon the principles of sack packaging and to fosterfurther improvements and refinements in this field. Knowledge enablingmore appropriate selections from increasing combinations of materialsand additives is vastly extending the range of sack packagingapplications. Sacks can be treated to resist vermin, oils, odors andmoisture, and reinforced with fibers to reduce tearing hazards. Thesack, as a shipping container, has always had the inherent advantages oflow tare weight ratio, flexibility, small required storage space, andlow material cost. As increased usage of bulk packaging has paralleledthe development of filling, closing, sewing, and other productionmachinery contributing to the ease of handling bags and sacks, the needhas arisen for a method and apparatus adapted to efiiciently move sacksfor the bulk shipment of such items as chemicals, fertilizers,insecticides, sand, cement, grains, flour, and dog food through theirrespective processes. The variety of sack sizes and textures presentedfor handling at an integrated bagging station requires a versatileapparatus readily adaptable to the needs of all packers without suchmechanical and electrical complications as would necessitate costlyalterations to present equipment layout. Any such apparatus should,additionally, be

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designed to accommodate a series of instantaneous changes in therelative size, shape, weight, or texture of the material encountered,while permitting, in event of failure, an immediate conversion to manualhandling without any interruption of the packer operation with resultingloss of production.

Prior art machinery of the type upon which this invention has improvedutilized the relative reciprocal movement between spikes projecting incorresponding rows from the respectively flush surfaces of a pluralityof elements (for example, a plate provided with spaced apart elongatedsliding bars) to engage the interstices between the woven yarns of ajute bag such that the points of one element would intersect linespassing through the points of the other element. Apparatus of thisnature has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,649 to Harton. Designlimitations inherent in such a lifting mechanism tend to cause therejection of folded material encountered by its operative surface. Thosewoven fabric patches retaining contact with the reciprocally movingspiked surface and not ruptured by localized stress concentrationsconcomitantly created through rejection of folded material occasionallyinteract to bunch up and push or pull more material into disengagementfrom the surface thereby further reducing the effective area ofspike-material communication. Pants-press creases imparted during balestorage to the jute bags ofttimes handled by such apparatus, repeatedlyprevent a majority of spikes from intersticially engaging the material.The sack droops at the mouth to foil the filling mechanism or falls backto the supply pile in a crumpled condition requiring that the device beshut down until the sack is either removed or straightened and stretchedinto a condition suitable for presentment to the grasping apparatus.

The persistent occurrence of longitudinal folding in bale stored fabric,and a general inability of the aforementioned mechanism to provideadequate tension throughout a sufiicient proportion of the materialencountered led to the construction of machinery in which two shafts,inset lengthwise on a plate, and having steel pins inserted in theirlower halves would rotate in opposite directions through when broughtinto contact with the material. After thus placing the fabric in tensionacross the width dimension, the plate might be raised to transfer thematerial to a different location. This apparatus, seeming to suffer fromthe design limitations of its predecessor, frequently failed to achievea satisfactory coupling. Its unidimensional grasping mechanism could nottolerate a lengthwise fold in any fabric being handled; consequentlyeach bag had to be manually straightened before presentment.

It will be apparent that machinery designed to accommodate any bag (forexample fabric, plastic, or paper bags) must confront numerousadditional and ofttimes exacting parameters. Within the asbestosindustry for example, it is preferred that a porous fabric materialcomposed of fibers such as jute or hemp be utilized to package, ship andstore raw fibers. Other similarly unique orders placed by individualcustomers require a device designed to accommodate a series ofinstantaneous changes in the relative size, weight, or texture ofpackaging materials. Essential to such apparatus is the presence ofmeans for substantially eliminating both longitudinal and latitudinalfolds from the wide variety of materials presented for handling.Appropriate precautions are required in order to prevent puncturing ordefacing any thin, delicate, or ornamental surfaces contacted.

A more pertinent apparatus, in many respects, than that disclosed in theHarton Patent is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,356,237 to Walton.

It is therefore an object of this invention to overcome the deficienciesinherent in previous apparatus of this nature, by providing a method andapparatus useful in the handling of a wide variety of material sizes,weights and textures. It is a particular object of the invention toeffectively eliminate the longitudinal, latitudinal and other creases orfolds from a variety of materials presented to be mechanically held andtransferred to a suitable location.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus of the type described for mechanically securing a sufiicientsurface portion on the topmost piece of material in a stack of pieces tocompel its firm adherence to the apparatus.

A still further object of the invention is to devise a versatilematerial holding device readily adaptable to a variety of packingoperations with minimal alteration to existing equipment layout.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a holdingdevice of the type described that will be capable of exclusivelysecuring the top wall of the topmost sack on a stack containing avariety of sack sizes, textures and materials so as to allow the openingup of the sack when lifted off the stack for transfer to a suitablelocation as, for example, a filling station.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an automaticholding device of the type described which is relatively simple indesign, efficient in operation, and economical to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To accomplish the stated objects, my novelmethod and apparatus utilizes a plurality of forces extending generallyradially outward from an interior position on the surface portion of afabric material in order to provide sufiicient tension throughout asubstantial area of the material. The arrangement of the inventionpermits an instantaneous employment of vacuum means for theaccommodation of porous and non-porous fragile or ornate materials. Aunique means is thus furnished for effectively eliminating thoselongitudinal and latitudinal creases or folds formerly frustrating theattainment of a stable union between material and apparatus, and formechanically securing a sufiicient surface portion on the topmost piecein a stack containing a variety of sack sizes, textures and materials tocause an adherence adequate to allow its transfer to a suitablelocation.

In one aspect of the invention a plurality of shoes, slidably mounted onand flush with the surface of a working plate, move diagonally, radiallyoutward toward positions corresponding with the four corners of a bag.Outwardly inclining pins inserted in each shoe impale and push thematerial radially outward until the resilient fabric is stretchedbetween the shoes in two dimensions. Each shoe and its spikes workindividually to engage the material at respectively remote positionsthereby insuring sufficient joinder not withstanding a fold in onedimension. A resultant increase in stretch travel enables the inventivesystem to handle sacks as they arrive from a bale. In anotherarrangement a vacuum acts through apertures located on or about theshoes to cause the requisite coupling. The novel apparatus overcomesdesign deficiencies inherent in previous apparatus of this nature byutilizing these simple and inexpensive mechanical means to stretch,straighten, and effectively eliminate undesirable wrinkles from avariety of materials presented to be held and transferred to a suitablelocation.

The above and other objects will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a material handling deviceincorporating, among other components, an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the invention picturedin FIG. 1, showing its structure in more detail;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the implement of FIG. 2 takenalong the section 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a power air cylinder individuallyactuating a material securing implement of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view" of a material holding mechanism for thehandling arrangement of FIG. 1 incorporating an alternate embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the embodiment of the invention pictured inFIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a material handling device incorporating analternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation showing a creased material, thedotted portions depicting those areas about to be contacted by thematerial securing implements of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 depicts the subject matter of FIG. 8 showing, however, thematerial and its relation to each contacting implement after aneffective elimination of creases has been achieved.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The material handling implements ofthe present invention may be fabricated in a number of relatively simpleconfigurations. As a consequence the invention will be found to functionwith most varieties of material handling apparatus. For the presentillustrative purposes the invention is described in connection with amaterial handling device of the bag placing variety. To facilitate thediscussion to follow, the component parts of this apparatus which remainidentical throughout the figures are provided with the same numeration.

Referring to FIG. 1, the material holding apparatus 10 is shown formedfrom a somewhat unitary structure having a main plate 12 of an elongatedrectangular shape corresponding to the general dimensions of thematerial presented for handling. Extending generally radially outwardfrom the central portion of the main plate 12 and slidably mountedwithin a plurality of grooves having generally T-shaped cross sections14 are material securing implements 16 which can be individuallydisplaced along their respective grooves by actuating air cylinders 18.Such power means, shown in FIG. 4, can be conveniently welded to themain plate 12 for support in a position permitting the piston rod 20 ofa cylinder 18 to be connected with suitable linkage 22 for displacing animplement 16 along a groove until such implement, having a sliding fittherein, is restrained from moving further by the resilient propertiesof any material adhering to it.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 this implement is revealed in more detail.Although the configuration of implement 16 may be modified to functionwith a variety of material handling applications, it is sometimespreferable to machine it from derlin plastic with steel pins 24 insertedinto a plurality of bores 26 in a base plate 28 of such implement 16 atan outward angular inclination of approximately 15. In one aspect of theinvention base plate 28 can be slidably adjusted within the hollowhousing 32 of implement 16 to permit the steel pins 24 to extend belowthe substantially flat material Working surface 30 of main plate 12.Contact between main plate 12 and the presented material 38 aetuatescylinders 18 to cause the radial displacement of each respectivesecuring implement 16. The rigidly fitted steel pins engage theinterstices between the woven yarns of a fabric to produce asatisfactory coupling and cause the material 38 to be stretched as eachimplement moves generally radially outward toward the exterior portionsof the material. Although the resilient characteristics of materialsvary considerably, the requisite tension exerted on the material duringradial movement of each implement will generally be achieved without anelongation of the woven textile yarns. When employing a smaller numberof material securing implements it is desirable to maintain aproportionately larger angle between the respective radial pathstraveled by each implement. Preferably, for rectangular shapedmaterials, the angles between any two paths traveled should beapproximately the same. In another aspect of the invention, shown alsoat FIG. 5, the base plate 28 can be slidably elevated within the hollowhousing unit 32 of implement 16 to prevent steel pins 24 from defacingor puncturing an ornamental or fragile material surface. A vacuum meansis employed to draw air upward through an orifice 34 located on or abouteach securing implement. Such orifices can conveniently be arrangedwithin the hollow housing unit 32 of each implement 16 to provide asuction sufficient to attract, firmly secure, and maintain continuedcontact with a presented material 38 during such time as the implementsshape, straighten and transfer the material 38 to a suitable location.The mechanical coupling of each aforementioned securing means permitsthe mechanism to accommodate an instantaneous change in a wide varietyof material sizes, shapes and textures. When necessary both securingmeans can be arranged to function simultaneously for increased adherencebetween the material and each contacting implement.

In the embodiments thus far described it was desired to straighten eachpiece of material prior to transfer to a suitable location. Inasmuch asmaterial handling applications vary considerably, it may sometimes benecessary to grip and transfer various material sizes, shapes, andtextures in a number of unstraightened forms. Certain alterations to theabove securing apparatus will permit its functioning within the scope ofthe invention herein involved to secure and transfer resilient materialsin countless configurations of the unstraightened variety. Securingimplements 16 can even be removed or maintained in an immobile state,for example, to permit use of a vacuum means in the ordinary way totransfer unstraightened non-porous materials. Such modifications areintended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the subjoined claims.

In the use of the apparatus for securing and transferring a piece ofmaterial 38, main plate 12 is brought to bear on the topmost fabric in astack of such fabrics so as to ensure a firm contact between materialsecuring implements 16 and the topwall 36 of said fabric. As shown inFIG. 4, each material securing implement 16 is individually actuated byair cylinders 18 which, in turn, can be energized by the closing of alimit switch in the conventional manner upon contact between main plate12 and the material 38. The variance in travel speed and distancethereby created reduces tearing hazards while increasing the relativedistance moved by each securing implement 16. With this increasedstretching power the securing implements 16 slide radially outward alonggrooves 14 to exercise far greater straightening potential than ispossible with the relatively reciprocating elements utilized by priorart devices. Outwardly inclining pins 24 inserted in each materialsecuring implement 16 or, alternatively, a vacuum means preferablyexerted from within the securing implements 16 produce an adherencebetween the material and each respective securing implement 16. Theseimplements continue to push or draw the material radially outward untilthe resilient fabric is stretched between the securing implements 16 intwo dimensions. After thus placing the fabric in a sufiicientduodimensional tension, main plate 12 can be raised to create an openingbetween the upper and lower layers of a sack, for example.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 the above discussed procedure for securing asufficient surface portion on the topmost piece of material in a stackof pieces to compel its firm adherence to the apparatus is illustrated.The figures show a severely creased material 38 awaiting subjection tothe method and apparatus for securing its transfer to a suitablelocation. Each dotted portion 40 on the material surface connotes anarea appointed for engagement with the material securing implements 16.Note that in FIG. 4 a prior art device utilizing relativelyreciprocating elements could not be brought to bear upon this piece ofmaterial such that a majority of points spaced equidistantly oversubstantially the entire length of such elements would engage theinterstices between the woven yarns of the material. Those creasedportions of the material which do contact the several points positionedalong the relatively reciprocating elements of a prior art apparatus andwhich are not rejected by the reciprocal movement or ruptured belocalized stress concentrations concomitantly created through rejectionof folded material will interact to bunch up and push or pull morematerial into disengagement from the operative surface thereby furtherreducing the area of spike-material communication. Accordingly, whenprevious devices encountered a creased or crumpled material, itscondition was considere'd to be so unacceptable for handling that thematerial had to be laid out flat with care manually. As illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9 the dramatic results achieved by our unique device havevirtually eliminated the necessity for manually straightening each pieceof material before presentment. The individually actuated securingimplements engage the material at respectively remote positions and workseparately to straighten severely creased materials notwithstanding afold in one dimension. Since material-apparatus relationships previouslythought inappropriate are now quite proper, a desirable integration ofthis industrial packaging element into the general manufacturing systemin order to facilitate an economical and eflicient physical product flowwhich will conspicuously reduce or eliminate extra and unnecessaryexpense in thousands of factories and distribution activities can beachieved.

It will be apparent to those versed in the science of material handlingthat the material securing arrangement of this invention may assume avariety of configurations depending upon the material handlingapplication with which it is used. Where appropriate, as discussed inconnection with FIG. 1, the arrangement may be inserted among othercomponents in the production of a fully integrated material handlingsystem. For material handling systems currently in use, the arrangementof the invention may be fabricated as an optional accessory. Thepositioning of the material securing means may be arranged with respectto other components in the system to permit an instantaneous conversionto manual handling. Subsidiary advantage may also be realized from theabove discussed positioning of the securing mechanism. For instance thesecuring implements can be advantageously positioned to work withincontaminated or inaccessible areas in which environmental conditionsrender undesirable the prolonged human exposure necessitated by mostmanual operations.

Since certain changes may be made in our novel material handlingarrangement without departing from the scope of the invention hereininvolved, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim:

[1. A material securing and transporting apparatus adapted to stretch awrinkled material in two dimensions, which comprises:

a. a main support;

b. a plurality of material securing implements slidably mounted on saidsupport for contact with said material, each of said implementsincluding at least one securing means for securing to said implementportions of said material contacted by said implements;

c. means for positioning said implements to contact the material; and

d. means for automatically individually displacing each of saidimplements generally radially outward from an interior portion of saidsupport in response to a predetermined signal, whereby to stretch saidmaterial and thereby effectively remove undesirable wrinkles] [2. Theinvention as recited in claim 1, wherein each implement includes aplurality of securing means, each of which comprises a spaced projectionoutwardly protruding and angularly inclined in the radially outwarddirection traveled by such implement] 3. The invention as recited inclaim [1] 12 wherein said securing means includes vacuum means adaptedto secure said material to said implements.

[4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein:

a. a summation of angles formed between lines congruent with andextending through paths traveled by said implements during their radialdisplacement equals 360;

b. each of said angles has approximately the same magnitude] [5. Theinvention according to claim 1, wherein: lines congruent with andextending through paths traveled by said implements during their radialdisplacement are perpendicular to each other] [6. The inventionaccording to claim 1, wherein the means for individually displacing eachof said implements comprises at least one air cylinder connected to eachimplement; and said positioning means includes means for activating saidair cylinder upon contact between the material and said implements] 7. Amaterial securing and transporting apparatus adapted to stretch awrinkled material in two dimensions, which comprises:

a. a main support;

b. a plurality of material securing implements slidably mounted on saidsupport for contact with said material;

c. means for positioning said implements to contact the material;

d. means for individually displacing each of said implements generallyradially outward from an interior portion of said support;

e. vacuum means associated with said implements for securing to saidimplements portions of material contacted by the implements, wherebyundesirable wrinkles within the material are effectively eliminated.

8. An assembly for securing and stretching material in two directions,said assembly comprising:

a. a support base;

b. a plurality of material securing implements mounted on and slidablymovable along said support base, each of said implements including aplurality of projections connected with and extending from saidimplement at an acute angle with respect to the direction of saidmovement and vacuum means, said projections and vacuum means beingprovided for alternatively securing portions of said material to saidimplements upon contact of the latter with said material;

c. means for positioning said implements in contact with said material;and

(1. means for slidably displacing said implements after the latter arepositioned in contact with said material for stretching said material.

[9. A process for securing and transporting material, comprising thesteps of:

a. impaling portions of a resilient material with a plurality of spacedprojections; and

b. automatically displacing the projections generally radially outwardfrom an interior portion of the material in response to a predeterminedsignal, whereby undesirable wrinkles within said material areeffectively eliminated as the material is stretched in two dimenions][10. A process for securing and transporting material, as recited inclaim 9 wherein said spaced projections engage interstices between wovenyarns of a fibrous saclc] 11. A process for securing and transportingmaterial, comprising the steps of:

a. contacting portions of a material with a plurality of implements;

b. applying a vacuum through said implements to secure said portions ofmaterial;

c. individually displacing each implement generally radially outwardfrom an interior part of the material,

Whereby undesirable wrinkles within said material are effectivelyeliminated as the material is stretched in two dimensions.

12. A material securing and transporting apparatus adapted to open aflexible suck, to stretch said sack in two dimensions and transfer saidopened stretch sack to a sack filling station, which comprises:

a. a main support,-

b. a plurality of sack securing implements slidably mounted on saidsupport for contact with said sack, each of said implements including atleast one securing means for securing to said implement portions of saidmaterial contacted by said implements,-

c. means for positioning said implements to contact the sack;

means for automaticlly individually displacing each of said implementsgenerally radially outward from an interior portion of said support inresponse to a predetermined signal whereby to stretch said sack andthereby efiectively remove undesirable wrinkles;

e. means for moving said implements and said secured suck forautomatically opening said sack; and

3. means for positioning said opened and secured sack at said sackfilling station.

13. The invention as recited in Claim 12, wherein each implementincludes a plurality of securing means, each of which comprises a spacedprojection outwardly protruding and angularly inclined in the radiallyoutward direction traveled by such implement.

14. The invention according to Claim 12 wherein:

a. a summation of angle formed between lines congruent with andextending through paths traveled by said implemets during their radialdisplacement equals 360'; and

b. each of said angles has approximately the same magnitude.

15. The invention according to Claim 12, wherein: lines congruent withand extending through paths traveled by said implements during theirradial displacement are perpendicular to each other.

16. The invention according to Claim 12. wherein the m ans forindividually displacing each of said implements comprises at least oneair cylinder connected to each implement; and said positioning meansincludes means for activating said air cylinder upon contact betweensack and said implemets.

17. A process for securing opening and transporting a flexible sackcomprising the steps of:

a. impaling portions of a said sack with a plurality of spacedprojections;

b. automatically displacing the projections generally radially outwardfrom an interior portion of the sack in respOnse to a predeterminedsignal, whereby undesirable wrinkles within said sack are efl'ectivelyeliminated as the sack is stretched in two dimensions;

0. moving said projections and impaled sack for automatically openingsaid sack; and

d. positioning said opened and impaled sack at sack filling station.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS The following references, citedby the Examiner, are

patent.

10 of record in the patented file of this patent or the original Makee38-1021 Batey 38-10231 Bird 38l02.9l Wilson 38102.l

US. Cl. X.R.

